Living Black at University 41 The survey data shows that the number of racist incidents within student accommodation is higher than the reported level would suggest, with over half of Black respondents having been the victims of racism and almost three-quarters of all students having heard racist remarks. Perhaps most disappointingly, some of this racism originates from staff. While most of the incidents appear to be more subtle forms of racism or exclusion, nonetheless students report that this has an impact on them, a finding which is supported by the EHRC study. 9 There are low levels of trust among Black students in the processes that sit behind anti-racist strategies. Living Black at University 40 6.3 SUMMARY AND KEY FINDINGS The global pandemic has fuelled some of these acts of racism, with 51% of respondents and 46% of Black respondents reporting having witnessed instances of racism because of COVID-19. Where institutional actions were discussed, it was felt that they were paying lip service. Even though students recognise the seriousness of racism, with some describing it as a hate crime, they still feel that there is no point in reporting the issue as they do not feel there would be an appropriate resolution. These experiences of racism are generally unreported by Black students and unacknowledged by accommodation providers and universities, they are however commonplace among respondents in this study. The under-reporting is due to a lack of trust as discussed above. The failure to acknowledge this may arise from poor processes and training, or because the issue is not prioritised. The positive findings in this section are that there are instances in which racism is being confronted. Half (49%) of all respondents, and 40% of Black respondents, have witnessed staff positively confront racist attitudes, and two-thirds (67%) of all respondents (57% of Black respondents) have witnessed other students confront racist attitudes. “I have witnessed other students confront racist attitudes positively.” Others, including one Black respondent, felt that ‘woke’ or anti-racist positions were an overreaction to what they perceived as a non-problem. In the free text responses to the survey, four respondents referred to anti-White racism. While this is not the focus of this study, the presence of these views needs acknowledging.